fire and saving lives. next. it's not just your abc's but is it a gimmick or genius. coming home, new information on the berkeley grad just freed and two others still held in prison. first -- >> when we found out our sandy was down there, this became a

different story. >> stunned, the loved ones of the victims of the brutal explosion tonight. heartbreaking stories of loss, in particular, 81-year-old elizabeth torres. she was killed in thursday's blast. ironically her family and friends say she was waiting at home for pg&e to come ask fix her gas stove that evening and to check out the smell of gas in her home. >> tonight a puzzling contradiction in the investigation, though. the ntsb is reporting it has received at least 90 e-mails of people claiming they smelled gas before the blast. out of those e-mails, only one person said they actually reported it to pg&e. but pg&e maintains they have no record of anyone calling to report smelling gas. live team coverage tonight. >> first george joins us with elizabeth's tragic story. a mother killed and a daughter fighting to stay alive.

george? >> reporter: cindy braun, her husband alan, and the sister are here at st. archbishandy arnold. they hope she will recover and return home soon. >> word spread quickly that one of their own was severely burned in last week's explosion in san bruno. >> when we found out our sandy was down there, this became a different story,. you know.kn i bebeingg affffected by it becau we're kind of close knit. >> sandy arnold was visiting her sister and mother, 81-year-old elizabeth torres. torres died. arnold, sher sisther sister cin brother arnold suffered third-degree burns over 60% of their bodies. >> when these things happen, you feel terrible, but you never

think it will be somebody that you're so close to or that you know. >> sandy's husband was at his petaluma home and saw the news on tv and knew immediately that sandy was in the neighborhood. >> he had been trying to reach sandy on the cell phone, and he says, i can't get ahold of her. it keeps going to the voice message. and he says, i'm so worried, you know, and he didn't know what to do. >> dorothy also knew torres would visit her daughter. >> it's really sad, it really is. i just feel so bad for the whole family. >> friends are trying to rally around sandy's husband, trying to help him in any way they can. >> all of us here are so devastated by what happened. we all saying we're pulling for sandy, and if there is anything that any of us can do for you or sandy, just -- all you have to do is ask.

>> now, i just talked to pg&e, and they said they're going to look specifically into whether elizabeth torres was waiting for pg&e workers to come to her home to check out a gas smell and apparently a stove that was not working. live in san francisco tonight, nbc bay area news. >> hopefully they'll get some answers there, george. there were so many stunning stories of survival from that night, but none more dramatic than a very pregnant betty g guggenheim. >> we just ran. we didn't have any shoes. we had to borrow all this stuff from our neighbor. >> can you imagine her terror? betty grabbed her three children and she didn't look back. tonight she went home for the first time. we're live in san bruno where many people say that being home sden exactly make them feel safe, jean. >> fire investigators are

finally getting a closer look at the devastation. for many of them, all that's left is a chimney and a pile of ashes. many say they're grateful that their family survived, but the trauma is far from over. fire victims who lost everything get a chance to sift through the ashes. wearing white safety suits, they search for a memento, something they had in their life before the blast. jose wasn't allowed in today. he can see where his house once stood. he wants to look for his daughter's treasures. >> my daughter's things, like metal. >> right next to a block of destruction, betty magulihan and her husband are packing up keep sakes. >> of all the bad things that happen to us, i'm counting my

blessings. >> she carried her three kids. her family is safe, but her kids are afraid the fire will return. >> sometimes it's heartbreaking because my three-year-old keeps on praying for safety every night, because she said that, if i don't pray for safety, the fire might come back. >> things won't begin to seem normal for the magulihans for a long time. their house is standing but badly damaged. >> the roof collapsed on the master bedroom and the kids' bedrooms and there's water damage everywhere. it's stinky inside. we won't be able to move in until some serious repairs. >> many victims say the neighborhood will never feel the same. jose tobar isn't sure he can rebuild here. >> you don't know if you're in a safe zone, you know? you want to build, and some people die. >> picking up the pieces will be a long, painful process.

now, a family here is passing out these flyers tonight hoping to find two cats that lived in a home that is destroyed. people are trying to find important pieces of their lives here in the neighborhood and in the rubble. reporting live in san bruno, jean elle, san bruno bay area news. >> in the few minutes after the explosion, there was chaos everywhere. for those of us watching the horr horror, first responders rushed to get to the inferno. this is the scene from the chopper as the huge fireball shot high into the air and the aftermath. the scanners give us a chilling sense that the crews on the ground felt just as helpless. >> it appears we have a plane down in the neighborhood. the whole structure is on fire and we have a fireball still coming out. >> as firefighters raised toward the flames, the blast sent neighbors running for their lives. >> we could only go so far because the wall of fire was

incredibly, intensely hot. it's beyond anything i can describe. it helped to know there were place we couldn't get to. >> it took nearly a half hour for first responders to realize this was no plane crash. >> it does not appear there is an aircraft down, it appears it is some natural gas explosion. >> for some firefighters, that hit close to home. >> i grew up here, i worked here, and it's my family. >> for a time, they had no way to fight the fire. >> we think we got a broken water main down there, so we need to weigh in from the corner at sanford avenue. >> it's a shaky feeling at the least, because you count on that water, and if there's ever a time you needed it, it was then. >> still ahead in our san bruno explosion scoverage, a look at g and he's efforts to keep down

the costs. the latest death now brings the number of california babies who succumb to whooping cough to nine. california department of public health said the latest baby to die was less than two months old, lived in san bernardino county, which is in southern california. so far 3600 whooping cough infections have been reported in california so far this year. that's a seven-fold jump from last year. and the number of cases since 1958. a uc beerkeley grad finally free. sar sha shouah shourd is with h. we just got new information about where she'll go next and when she'll be back in the united states. a baby really learning how to read? an investigation into those popular tv ads. will they give your kid a head start or should you save your

money? temperatures cooling off to a number of upper 50s, maybe even a few low au50s. only 63. and yes, we are tracking showers in your forecast. details in minutes. the ballpark went silent tonight. we'll show you how the giants reached out to the victims of the sano explosion. we'll see you in a few minutes. barbara boxer. she fought to get our veterans the first

full combat carecalifornia. her after school law's keeping a million kids off the street and out of gangs. and she's fighting every day to create new jobs. boxer: i'm working to make california the leader in clean energy, to jump-start our small businesses with tax credits and loans, to create thousands more california jobs. i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message because i want to see the words "made in america" again.

free at last. uc berkeley grads in the next few hours after being freed from an iranian prison. her release touches off a 14-month ordeal when she, josh ovttal and shane bauer stepped er the border. sarah then expressed her gratitude. >> i want to thank everyone all over the world, the government, all the people that's been involved, and i especially want

to address president ahmadinejad and all the iranian officials and religious leaders and thank f them for the humanitarian gesture. >> shourd is appealing for the release of shane and josh. her mother says although she's glad for sarah's release, shane and josh should get to come home. >> i'm very relieved, but it's bittersweet because we want shane and josh home as soon as possible. >> the two are charged with espionage and will be forced to stand trial. footing the bill for fighting wildfires? it could become a reality for a pg&e customer. they want permission from the state public utilities commission to pass along anything not covered by insurance onto its customers. the utility says the $992 million it has in insurance money probably won't be enough to cover the cost of rebuilding and repairing the damage in san

bruno. 2,007 wildfires cost many dollars. >> we requested that we be allowed to recover costs from wildfires that aren't covered by insurance. >> pg&e says the cost of the san bruno explosion won't be passed on to customers. the pcuc is expected to make a decision on the power company's proposal sometime in the coming spring. the ads promised your baby ken reed and hundreds of thousands of infants around the world have learned to read using his program, some as young as two months old. but is it really worth that investment? and why are there so many on-line complaints about "your baby can read" program. we investigate. >> reporter: flash cards. >> what's this word? >> to dvds. >> what's up?

>> eyes. >> handwritten words. two-year-old sonia isn't shy about her word skills. >> it definitely wasn't an impulse buy. >> mom hong said her baby started "the baby can read" program at 10 months old. >> we got confident she really knew what the words were. we would say rp, find the word elephant, and she would climb over and find the elephant. >> he says skeptical but says the plan really works. a kwibquick on-line search turn plenty of parent complaints about the on-line program. >> i have to say i really don't see a difference in my daughter's reading. >> many who review it say the dvds are too repetitive and rely

on imagination rather than learning to sound words out. darla reagan is a certified reading and spelling tut or. >> reading is really the cause of cognitive awareness which is finding the sounds and the letters and putting it together in words. it would be really unreasonable to expect a 12-year-old to do that. >> she says reading early and on which to your child can be just as effective. >> what you want to do is expose them. although reagan says the best time to learn to read is in the infant and toddler stages, reagan says you have to be flexible. >> if your baby can't read it, too, don't panic. >> i certainly wouldn't. >> as for sonia, she's moved on.

her parents say she rarely uses the program anymore, but what she learned, and is still learning, was worth the time ask money. >> it's just one facet of what's available to her. she's playing with her toys, she's going out to the park. this is just one more thing. >> this is going to familiarize themselves with words and the whole concept of it. basically, there's just a step closer. >> so we tried contacting the company for a comment but they dinh respo didn't respond to our request. for more on the red flags your child may be having trouble learning to read, log onto our web site. if you've tried this program, shape your sights. >> i new weather treatment that promises to keep things nice in

the san bernardino railway. they're helping doctors zero in on tumors. there are only six of these machines in the world, and one of them is right here in the bay area. where it is and when it will be used. that's tomorrow night right here on 11:00. let's turn to whetheather, you were part of the -- well, it was called still life with bank the question. we were basically eating a meal, and then it was decomposing. >> that's interesting. >> yes. it was actually gross and it was actually art, because by the time you looked uit up. let's get to the radar. yes, we are going to be tracking some shoes for the radar is dry

for now, but that's going to be changing. especially as we head throughout friday and saturday here in the bay area. right now current temperatures dropping. we have 53 in san mateo, 55 in san francisco. mainly here in the east and south bay, we've got closely together with a fog remaining off the coastline and for wednesday, a few showers up in the east bay. yes, we are talking about late week showers for friday, saturday and sunday of the right now some 294 miles. we'ren worried about this cloud cover because system number 1 is going to be headed to the north. it's the system that's in the high now that will allow us to

bli 11:00 p.m. by thursday, and then right on down to 6:00 p.m. then let's advance ourselves for saturday. so we're going to watch this as highly unusual for this time of year of the well, give your plants a little earlierier wauring. otherwise we're going to try near 50 in the north bay. for wednesday, temperatures still at 107. the peninsula low 60s to low 70s. conquer sam ramon dobld into -- and we'll see this trend here for the north bay. chance of showers once again.

friday, late. chance of showers saturday and chance of showers early sunday. whatever they've been going, and that's wacky. next you're banking on beer. you'll pay a lot more for a drink at the bar. rid of the mansion and the limo

budgets were balanced. $4 billion in tax cuts. world class schools and universities. clean energy promoted. 1.9 million new jobs created. california was working. i'm jerry brown. california needs major changes. we have to live within our means; we have to return power and decision making to the local level-closer to the people and no new taxes without voter approval. jerry brown the knowledge and know-how to get california working again.

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there will be an alcohol fee. for bar goers, that will mean three to five cents more for a drink starting january 1st. the money will go for problem drinkers in the city, paying for things like ambulances and rehab programs. before taking office, the mayor who was involved in a wine store expects to oppose this. check out photos asnd video more easily. twitter plans to split its web site. on one side you'll see the tweets, and on the other, video mix. >> due a treat for the giants? >> yes, i do. the giants $108,000 toward the san bruno relief fund, ask thnd

this. an error tm thehe t them the game. what about the heisman trophy? who is going to get it after reggie bush forfeited his? we'll be back in a moment. i'm forty-six. and the tooth fairy doesn't come when you're forty-six. just lots of referrals and appointments and bills that cost tons. maybe i'll keep it... it adds character... right? [ male announcer ] losing a tooth is a big deal at any age. that's why we offer dental coverage. blue shield. i thought it was over here... ♪

[car horn honks] our outback always gets us there... ... sometimes it just takes us a little longer to get back. ♪ but what really happened? cnn -- not me -- cnn says his assertion about his tax record was "just plain wrong." jerry brown went out there and took credit for the fact that the people of california voted for proposition 13, which lowered taxes, which he opposed. and now he's going around taking credit for it. he raised taxes as governor of california. he had a surplus when he took office and a deficit when he left. he doesn't tell the people the truth. let's go! we got a 1-2-0 in progress. what's a 1-2-0? another airline is charging up to $120 roundtrip for two bags.

[ imitating siren ] pull over! looks like we got a runner. pull over! we know you've been charging for bags! we can't stop every plane. we're gonna stop this one. you can fly, but you can't hide. ♪ [ ding ] an emotional night for the giants tonight. >> a lot going on at the ballpark. baseball kind of took second fiddle. few can be more important than a game chase. tonight the ballpark went silent. they recognized the victims of

the san bruno explosion. for years it's been the site of several giants. the team donated $3 for every ticket sold. for the second straight outing he was solid. 5-2/3 innings. there was a problem with the top of the sixth. it's an out. no, it's not. it's an error. the run scored, the only run of the game. he just couldn't get it out of the his glove. it's an unearned run. kershaw a young lefty for the dodgers, kershaw with a complete game. four-hit shutout. it hurts to lose on an error. dodgers win it 1-0. >> it doesn't feel good to have the team lose my start.

>> the dod getting back to the san bruno explosion, paul sandoval and his mother now live in a hotel after being evacuated last week. >> i don't care about my house. i care about my family getting out of there. that was scared for me. my momo, she's not allowed to speak any english. she deals with that pretty good. >> unfortunately, we buican't rebuild all the homes ourselves, but we can give some financial relief. >> the a story now. let's say you had a bad day at the office. in kansas city, ugly with a capital u. this dude lasted two innings, seven runs. kela kaluia.

what's going to happen to the now vacant 2005 heisman trophy award? reggie bush announced today he will forfeit the heisman. vince young from texas saying tone, sure, i'll take the award if it's given to me. how is this for a comeback? when we return, questions about wen out and found an expert panel, like a blue ribbon panel. this is manny from your sleep world. this is a top selection of name brand mattresses.

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area football fans, you just have to believe. the 49ers trying to bounce back. they host the saints, they host the rams this sunday. finally tonight, okay, let's be honest here. we get a little boring. adults get boring. all we do is listen to ourselves yap all day, so with that said, we organized a committee of sorts. we'll call it the n brks krrks

c bay area committee. we asked some of these rugrats, here's some pointed questions to you about the raiders and 49ers. who will have a better record, the 49ers or the raiders. >> probably the 49ers. >> raiders. >> i'm going to say the 49ers. >> i only watched the half time, but in the half time, the 49ers were winning. >> i only like the half time. i'm with him. >> he watched half the game. we paid big money for those interviews and there's is answer. >> bye bye.